Container stopper comprising a hollow capsule



April 22, 1969 B. MORANE 3,439,823

I CONTAINER STOPPER COMPRISING A HOLLOW CAPSULE Filed Nov. 27. 1967 Sheet o! 2 InveM-ar Bnuuo Mon ANE Elfin. WMJAMLM B. MORANE April 22, 1969 CONTAINER STOPPER COMPRISING A HOLLOW CAPSULE Filed Nov. 27 1967 Z of? Sheet FIG. 5-

FIG 2 n \ll 6 7 Inward-av BRUNO Mouse E MLAhwMuS United States Patent 3,439,823 CONTAINER STOPPER COMPRISING A HOLLOW CAPSULE Bruno Morane, Paris, France, assignor to LOreal, Paris, France Filed Nov. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 685,756 Claims priority, application Luxembourg, June 6, 1967,

Int. Cl. B65d 1/04, 79/00 US. Cl. 2156 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to bottles and like containers for holding a product which must not be mixed with a predetermined quantity of another product until the moment at which it is to be used in order to avoid loss of certain characteristic properties during storage.

It has naturally been suggested that hollow stoppers be employed, in which one of the products may be enclosed, and among the most commonly used stoppers of this type are those which comprise a rigid sliding part through which the enclosed product may escape from the stopper under the influence of gravity and come into contact with the other product in the bottle.

Some of these stoppers utilize a punch for the sliding part which perforates or cuts off the end of the stopper. Others use the sliding part to drive into the container 2. capsule provided with an opening through which the product contained in the capsule may escape, either naturally, or after shaking of the container.

Stopers of this type have several disadvantages, either when being filled, or during storage. When the product is hermetically sealed within the capsule, it is necessary to carry out a finishing step which requires a sealing membrane to be secured in place. When the product is not hermetically sealed, air is enclosed with it, thus creating a pressure within the capsule which tends to force the product out of the capsule during storage and handling before use, thus impairing the seal, so that some of the product in the capsule becomes prematurely mixed with the product in the container.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hollow stopper of the above type in which the capsule is filled and positioned in the body of the stopper in a simple manner, with the stopper holding the product in such a way that is cannot escape during storage and handling of the container.

The present invention is directed to the new article of manufacture which consists of a hollow stopper of the type containing a sliding capsule holding a first product which is to be mixed with another product inside the container carrying the stopper. This stopper is characterized by the fact that it comprises a cap for the hollow cylinder which constitutes the capsule, which cap is axially slidable in the stopper body. The cap loosely encircles one end of the cylinder so as to permit the escape of air therebetween. The telescopic movement of the hollow cylinder alone, or of the hollow cylinder and cap in the axial passage of the stopper is limited by cooperating shoulders, and pressure exerted on the hollow cylinder forces the stopper into the bottle.

In order that the invention may be better understood, a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described,

3,439,823 Patented Apr. 22, 1969 purely by way of illustration and example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the stopper according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view showing the hollow cylinder mounted on the body of the stopper while the cylinder is being filled;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing the cap being placed over the opening of the cylinder;

FIG. 4 is an axial section similar to FIGS. 2 and 3, showing the cap and hollow cylinder forced outward;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary axial section showing the stopper mounted on a bottle; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary axial section showing the stopper mounted on the bottle of FIG. 5, after the cylinder has been pressed in.

FIG. 1 shows a stopper 1 which comprises a protective cover 2, a hollow cylinder 3, a body 4, and a plug 5. An assembly comprising these members is shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The stopper body 4 is made of a moldable material having a certain flexibility when subjected to light pressure, and comprises an inner cylindrical passage having two bearing surfaces of slightly different diameters, a surface 6 on a part 7 which projects from the main part of the body 4, and a surface 8 of slightly larger diameter, beginning at the opposite end of the stopper.

The outer wall 9 of the hollow stopper 3 slides against substantial frictional resistance on the surface 6. This hollow stopper has at one end a section 10 having a reduced outer diameter, and at the other end the bottom of the hollow cylinder consists of a web 11 which may be pressed by a finger.

The body 4, has near its outer edge, on the side remote from the cylindrical projection 7, an annular-recess 12 for receiving the neck 13 of a bottle 14. An annular, inwardly projecting ridge 15 in this recess is designed to catch over the flange 16 of the bottle neck. On the side opposite the recess 12 the body 4 carries a cylindrical wall 17 which supports the lateral Wall 18 of the protective cover 2, and a frangible ring 19 sealed to the body 4, said ring pressing the lower end of the cap 2 against the wall 17 before being torn.

When the hollow cylinder 3 is seated in the body 4, as shown in FIG. 2, that is to say, when the open end of the hollow piston 3 is flush with the edge of the body 4, the product 20, which is to be mixed, is introduced into the cylinder, and may fill the cylinder up to its upper edge. The cap 5 is then mounted on the cylinder so that its transverse web rests on the peripheral wall of the cylinder 3, with the skirt '22 of this cap positioned loosely between the section 10 of the peripheral wall of the cylinder, and the surface 8 of the body 4. By pressing the cap 5 lightly in the direction of the arrow F, the cap is forced into the position shown in FIG. 4.

This step drives at least part of the air which has been imprisoned between the web 21 of the cap 5 and the product 20 out between end section 10 of the hollow cylinder and the skirt 22 of the cap 5. There is thus no excess air pressure in the cylinder wrich would tend to force the product 20 out of it.

When the shoulder 23 of the plug 5 comes into contact with the end of the surface 8, the stopper securely contains the product 20 and may occupy any position without risking separation of the plug, which because of the friction between it and the associated bearing surface, has no tendency to separate from the body of the stopper.

At this time, the neck of the bottle may be inserted in the recess 12 of the stopper, in which position it is retained by the annular ridge 15, which snaps over the flange 16 on the bottle. The cover 2 is then placed in position and the ring 19 secured thereto in any suitable way. This ring holds the slightly frustoconical portion 18 of the cap against the wall 17 of the stopper.

When the product 20 is to be mixed with the liquid 24 in the bottle 14, the tongue 19a of the ring 19 (best shown in FIG. 1) is pulled until this ring is completely separated from the body 4, and the cover 2 is removed. Pressure is then exerted against the web 11 in the direction F1, thus forcing down the cap 5 which, when its skirt 22 ceases to be gripped by the inside of the wall 6 of the body 4, separates from the body 4. Once this separation has taken place, the product 20 falls by gravity into the liquid 24.

The downward movement of the hollow cylinder 3 is limited by the shoulders 25 near its upper end, which come in contact with the upper end of the wall 6.

The product 20 is mixed with the liquid 24 and the hollow cylinder 3 is then separated from the body 4 to pour out the liquid. If only part of the mixture is used, the cylinder 3 is again inserted in the cylindrical section 6, and the bottle thus reclosed.

The stopper according to the invention thus solves in a very simple way the problem of sealing the product Within the hollow cylinder; the close friction fit between the hollow cylinder and the cap inside the body of the stopper assures failure-free functioning of the stopper, the inviolability of which may be guaranteed by any known means.

It will of course be appreciated that the embodiment which has just been described may be modified as to detail without thereby departing from the basic principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A stopper comprising an annular body adapted to be carried on the mouth of a container, a capsule slidably mounted within said body, a cap closing one end of said capsule and having a skirt positioned between said capsule end and said annular body, with suflicient clearance between said capsule and skirt to permit the escape of air therebetween as said cap is positioned on said capsule, said cap and capsule being slidable as a unit within said annular body between a first position in which both said capsule and skirt are gripped tightly by said body to hold said cap on said capsule, and a second position in which said skirt is no longer gripped and will fall away from said body when positioned therebelow, thereby permitting any substance in said capsule to fall into the container which carries said annular body.

2. A stopper as claimed in claim 1 in which said annular body is formed with an axial passageway therein, one section of said passageway, which receives said skirt, being slightly larger in diameter than a second section within which said capsule is slidable.

3. A stopper as claimed in claim 1 in which the external diameter of that portion of the outer surface of the stopper encircled by said skirt is smaller than the external diameter of the remainder of the stopper.

4. A stopper as claimed in claim 1 in which said capsule carries an external shoulder near the end thereof remote from said cap which engages said annular body when said capsule is in said second position.

5. A stopper as claimed in claim 1 in which said cap and body are provided with cooperating surfaces which engage each other when said capsule is in said first position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,653,611 9/1953 Smith 20647 X 2,781,141 2/1957 Lucien 215-6 FOREIGN PATENTS 773,154 4/1957 Great Britain.

DONALD F. NORTON, Primaly Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 206-47 

